The North Sea as a Living Marine Democracy
Abstract
By 2045, North Sea governance has shifted from sovereign control to bioregional, multispecies stewardship, recognising the sea as a political subject with agency and rights. This speculative yet plausible vision imagines governance rooted in ecological relationships, interspecies representation, and post-growth economies, informed by emerging legal, scientific, and civic practices. Tracing pathways from present-day initiatives to future institutions, it argues that changing imaginaries is a political tool capable of transforming law, culture, and governance, enabling more just, reciprocal, and regenerative relationships between humans and the living world.
Presentato: 05 Marzo 2026 | Accettato: 21 Maggio 2026 | Pubblicato 06 Agosto 2026 | Lingua: en
Keywords North Sea • Multi-species stewardship • Rights of Nature • Imaginaries • Bioregional governance
Copyright © 2026 Claudia Fernandez de Cordoba Farini. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.